In this Sunday, June 14, 2009 police mug photo released by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, Tyler Weinman, 18, is shown after his arrest in connection with a series of cat killings and mutilations in his Miami-area community. Horrified owners have been finding their cats killed and mutilated for the past month in Palmetto Bay and another nearby community. Weinman is charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary. (AP Photo/Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office)

MIAMI - A South Florida teenager was arrested early Sunday and accused of killing and mutilating the cats of his neighbors _ a disturbing string of deaths that has horrified residents and shaken animal lovers in two Miami-area communities.

Tyler Hayes Weinman, 18, was taken into custody at a party, police said. He was still being questioned at Miami-Dade police headquarters while authorities praised the arrest at a press conference Sunday morning.

"I understand that pet owners feel very strongly about their little family members," Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorenson said. "Animals bring happiness and comfort to our lives. So, to see them so violated and mutilated just defies all common sense and it's painful for everyone involved. Thankfully, for this community, the terror has come to an end."

Weinman was charged with 19 felony counts of animal cruelty, 19 misdemeanor counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four felony counts of burglary related to the cat deaths. It is unclear if he has an attorney. Messages left at phone numbers for his parents were not immediately returned and no one answered the door at his home.

"I hope it's not true," said 77-year-old Robert Ehrman, who lives across the street from Weinman and called his mother a "lovely person," but said he didn't know the teen well. "It's like a death in the family, I'm sure."

Jail officials said a court date has been set for July.

In the past month, residents in the Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay neighborhoods have reported finding more than two dozen cats killed and mutilated. Some of the dead cats were missing fur _ neighbors said some had been skinned _ and appeared to have been cut with a sharp, straight instrument, police said.

"It's shocking to think that someone who lives right here and is our neighbor could do something like this," said Thomas Shad, whose small black cat, Miss Kitty, was among those killed.

Shad, whose house is near Weinman's, said he had suspected a local resident might be behind the killings, which were first reported in May. Police said they investigated more than 30 cat deaths _ some of them likely caused by dogs _ and received hundreds of tips from concerned citizens.

"This is so important to our community," Miami-Dade Police Department Maj. Julie Miller said of the arrest. "So many lives have been affected _ children, adults, citizens who didn't even have animals affected."

Miller said the investigation is still open and additional arrests might be forthcoming, but she declined to name other suspects. Police said they have been watching the house where Weinman stays with his mother, and neighbors said he was taken to the police station for an interview on his prom night a few weeks ago. Weinman was still wearing a tuxedo when officers whisked him away that night, they said, and he missed the dance.

"If they do get the wrong guy and it's not him, they've ruined his life as it is right now," said 19-year-old Kyle Hantzis, who lives next door to Weinman.

Hantzis, who said his father dates Weinman's mother, called the teenager quiet and well-spoken. Authorities said Weinman was spending his summer doing odd jobs, and an online profile on Facebook.com says that he graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High this spring. By Sunday afternoon, there was already a group on the popular social networking Web site which listed its name in all capital letters as "Tyler Weinman Cat Mutilator! Justice For Miami Cat Mutilations!"

Police said Weinman was twice arrested as a juvenile, though they said they could not provide details about his previous run-ins with the law.

Hantzis said he had a hard time picturing the teen as a serial cat killer.

"I don't think, the way he acts and his demeanor, I don't think he could physically do it."

Four of the confirmed cat killings were reported on the street where Weinman lived in a beige-colored house with a bright red door. For the Shads, his arrest brought a sense of relief to their quiet suburban neighborhood that they haven't felt since Miss Kitty's body was found in the grassy yard of an abandoned house.

"I felt that I could rest. I was at peace with what was happening," said Mary Lou Shad, who said she cried while she watched the televised press conference on Sunday. "Hopefully he gets what he deserves."

A serious and dangerous criminal has terrorized the residents of Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay in Miami-Dade County since April. His victims are first, cats, second, their people, and third, all animal-lovers in the county. To date, the number of feline victims is over 19.

He killed cats in a particularly sadistic and cruel manner. Cats are maimed, mutilated, and skinned, and often positioned in the owner’s yard. These killings are extremely traumatic for the people who find the cats, especially when the owner(s) find the cat left for them. The cat-loving community has been warning cat owners in these areas. The police are investigating the murders and have 16 officers and a county prosecutor assigned to specially investigate these crimes. A reward for information leading to the arrest of the serial cat killer was up to $10,000.00. The story has been picked up by both local and national news. http://www.cnn.com, http://www.miamiherald.com, http://www.cbs4.com.

Finally, just last night, June 13th, he was caught. An eighteen-year-old teen boy living in the area.

Who would do this? What type of person can commit such violent and sadistic acts? The answer is not entirely clear, but recent research suggests that this kind of behavior often begins in childhood. One recent review of studies of childhood animal cruelty used this example: “Henry Lee Lucas was born in Blacksburg, Virginia. At 10 years of age he watched his mother's live-in boyfriend stab a calf in the neck and have sex with it while it was dying. At age 13 he began catching small animals and skinning them alive for fun. After stabbing, mutilating, and murdering women for over 30 years, at age 47, Lucas is now serving a life sentence in prison.”

Either males or females may torture and kill animals, but most of the time the offender is male. When females do it they are just as cruel, and commit similar acts to males. There is no one-size-fits-all “profile,” but the research shows that this behavior stemming from childhood is associated with “conduct disorder” which is often a child precursor to adult “antisocial behavior.” Adult anti-socials have this personality disorder, formerly known as either psychopathy, or sociopathy. The psychopath is one who commits violent acts, is often arrested and imprisoned, and shows no remorse for his victims. Such are some of the characteristics of serial killers. This does not mean that every child diagnosable with conduct disorder will do these things, and neither do all anti-socials.

When someone displays a pattern of such behavior s/he will often graduate to further or more serious cruelty, abuse, or killing. Families experiencing domestic violence are at greater risk for having an abuser abuse a family pet; sometimes this is a way for the abuser to either represent what he will do to his human victim, or the abuser may just wish to further isolate his victim from the comfort of a trusted companion animal. Children who are also abused directly, or who witness within-family abuse of people or animals are more likely to become animal abusers themselves. There is as yet no way to predict exactly which of these children will grow into later animal or person abuse. But some studies suggest that children from extremely violent families commit more serious abuse than others. Research on serial killers has demonstrated a link between animal cruelty and later serial crimes against humans.

In one study, researchers identified prison inmate animal abusers and found that the overwhelming majority of the most aggressive inmates abused cats; the number is triple the amount who abused dogs. For the cat abusers several had killed cats by hanging them, and even more had exploded cats or dogs. Other frequent methods of animal abuse included, “…limb amputation, decapitation, choking, brutal beatings, fracturing bones, and scalding with hot water...” There were reported events where abusers had tied the tails of animals together over a clothesline to see the animals fight each other. It is now considered important to consider which type of violence is committed against what animal in attempting to link childhood cruelty and later violence against humans. Other inmate studies basically support these results.

In addition to the harm befalling the cats, people are being harmed, too. It is generally known that companion animal loss for some is just as severe a trauma as loss of a human companion. People who find these cats and their owners may be traumatized severely, both by the loss, the sadistic attack on themselves, and the knowledge that this psychopath is at large. The communities are disturbed as well just from learning about these cruel, sadistic acts by the person(s) at large and acting in their neighborhoods. Other parts of the county are affected; this killer could strike in their neighborhoods next. And, there is at least a possibility that the perpetrator has already or will begin to commit violent acts against humans.

There is no known “cure” for the type and extent of the pathology exhibited by this perpetrator. But he must be stopped. Currently the police have charged him with numerous counts of animal cruelly, burglary, and other crimes. His police picture shows him with a smirk on his face. This boy lived in a nice neighborhood; his father is a dentist. It remains to be seen whether the charges will stick in court. Meanwhile, he is off the streets for now, but no one knows for how long, and whether he will "graduate" to sadistic crimes against humans.